Case Disclosed

The Unreasonableness of "Reasonable" Prepublication Review, Part 1

February 11, 2019
By Katrin Marquez '20

In 1931, the landmark decision Near v. Minnesota established that, as a general matter, prior restraints—“government action[s] that prohibit[] speech or other expression before the speech happens”—are unconstitutional under the First Amendment. As with most First Amendment jurisprudence, the decision recognized that there could be exceptional circumstances in which prior restraints may be allowable, notably in the context of national security.

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The First Challenge To FOSTA Was Dismissed — Along With The First Amendment’s Unique Standing Doctrine

December 27, 2018
By Anna Windemuth '20

A few months ago, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued the government on First and Fifth Amendment grounds for enacting the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.

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Twenty-First Century First Amendment: Public Forums in the Digital Age

October 29, 2018
By Isabel Farhi '19

In 2017, the Supreme Court recognized in Packingham v. North Carolina that “[w]hile in the past there may have been difficulty in identifying the most important places (in a spatial sense) for the exchange of views, today the answer is clear. It is cyberspace . . . and social media in particular.”

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Charging Bull and Fearless Girl: Conflict between Artists’ Rights and First Amendment Freedoms

June 18, 2018
By Shannon Price '20

When Kristen Visbel’s “Fearless Girl” was installed at Bowling Green in Manhattan’s Financial District in March of 2017, the statue was hailed by many as an iconic representation of female empowerment. Placed in the path of Wall Street’s famous “Charging Bull,” “Fearless Girl” stares down the massive animal with shoulders back and pigtails flying.

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